Pansies

Last week I brought home six bedraggled pansies from the market.  The nicer ones were two dollars each but I saw a tray of neglected looking flowers with yellow leaves and dying blossoms and the deal-finder in me rushed over to check the price.  They were only a dollar.  Hmmm...I'm historically terrible at raising any type of indoor greenery but I really liked the idea of trying one more time.  So, the vendor let me have all six for five dollars and I carted them home gingerly wrapped in plastic.  When my flowers and I arrived home, the first thing I did was to find a sunny spot for them.  The window box I had purchased second hand for just this purpose was too big to fit on my sill so I placed it on my dresser next to a sunny window.  It made me smile to see them there, so cute and content in their new surroundings.  After removing the dead leaves and blossoms and making sure they had enough water, I gave them one last admiring look and left the room to get dinner.  The next day, I noticed they were just a bit greener and a couple of the buds had blossomed.  I was so happy to see the flowers and the feeling of hope and springtime they brought with their journey from the earth.  Since I was alone, I praised them for being so beautiful and stroked the leaves that were getting greener and healthier each day.  I read somewhere that in recovering from depression, one should first care for a house plant, then a pet to qualify them for a relationship with another human being.  I don't know if that's true or not but this morning when I woke up, the first thing I did was to peek over at my pansies and check for more flowers and leaves.  They looked so wonderful and healthy, I pulled the shade and plopped them on the windowsill to catch a few extra rays on this cloudy day.  I now had something to care for and nurture, besides myself.  I enjoy the beauty they bring to my room.  I do feel a little badly about spraying them with body mist the first night they were home because they didn't smell like anything but now I think they're great just the way they are and I'm so proud of their daily growth and healthy blossoms.

 I suppose it's a bit like that with children.  They're born looking like something not quite like we pictured but there's still something in us that makes us love them and care for them anyhow.  Each day, they fatten up a little and take on new behaviours that make us love them even more.  We coo little endearments to them and stroke their foreheads dreaming of the time they'll sleep through the night.  Then, all too soon, they've toddled their way through time to the day they're asking for help with college admissions and you wonder how they could have blossomed so quickly...almost overnight.  The days spent waiting for new growth and encouraging them on to reach for more sunshine have unfolded this beautiful young adult; a friend, shopping buddy and sous chef in the kitchen with Sinatra or Buble crooning in the background.  I am so glad for the days I have been able to spend with my little darlings and now they have grown into young adulthood, each finding their way, reaching for the light.  So, this spring, when I put together their care packages, I'll be sure and include the traditional seed packages, gloves and gardening tools that they've come to expect as part of their Easter treat.  The tradition continues as they sit down during the early spring hours and gaze out of a cool window to imagine the garden that will grow from their love.